Hiring for holidays is picking up
United Parcel Service said Wednesday it plans to hire more than 100,000 extra workers to help handle an increase in packages during the critical holiday season.
Holiday-season volumes usually start rising in October and remain high into January. While online shopping has slowed from the height of the pandemic, it’s still well above historic norms.
UPS said Wednesday that there will be job openings for full- and part-time seasonal positions, primarily package handlers, drivers and driver helpers. In recent years, according to UPS, roughly 35 percent of people hired for seasonal package-handling jobs land permanent positions.
Arts and crafts retailer Michaels is hiring 15,000 seasonal workers nationwide starting this month. The retailer’s season begins a bit earlier than the rest of retailing since customers buy supplies to decorate for fall and winter holidays and to make gifts.
That number is 5,000 fewer than Michaels said it would hire last year. That change isn’t due to the tight labor market, Michaels said, adding that the company actually exceeded its 20,000 hiring goal last year. It was made after evaluating store employee feedback. The company’s seasonal workers said they wanted to work more hours.
This year, Michaels plans to increase the average hours available for seasonal workers, “which means more earning potential for those hires,” a Michaels spokesman said.
Michaels said its seasonal workers are offered “competitive wages,” flexible schedules and a 30 percent discount.
Last year, Michaels converted more than half of its seasonal in-store positions to regular jobs.